At The Heart of Tale Kingdoms (COMPLETED)

16.2 RAIE

Raie woke up to a sharp pinch on his neck. He opened his eyes to find a foreign face an inch away from his, partly hidden under long tumbling strands of night crimson hair. The face was a shade darker from the effects of the sun with an underlying red hue . Her eyes looked at him lazily with alluring opaque pools.

"Don't move. If you do this arrow will kiss you for me," she said. Raie stayed still.

He moved his eyes around to find his Uncle and the triplets at arrow point. The invaders that held them in position had pulled their bows to kill if need be. The girl above him held her arrow on her palms, as if it was a dagger.

"Is this my love, the sun you promised to bring me?" the girl asked. Her eyes never left him.

"Yes he is, the Stator of Storan, as promised. Tell your King Chief I come in peace to honor our agreement.

The girl smiled, her eyes were inspecting him, "Peace and honor, yet you insult at us, counselor." She murmured while caressing Raie's face with the arrow.

"Kill him" she said louder.

The three warriors that were all men held their bows in place. They were all bald and only wore leather bands around their temples and red dyed leather pants. They looked at each other in confusion.

"Which one?" asked the one above Uncle Tsy.

The girl rolled her eyes, "Truly why do I bother with you. The one who just spoke!"

"Wait." Raie objected as his Uncle mouth ell open in shock but the warrior didn't hesitate. He put the first arrow through Tsy Reyy's left eye and the second through his chest before Raie could utter another word.

"That man is my Uncle. What has he done to you to deserve such cruelty? Is this how you treat your guests?", he shouted. The girl lowered her arrow and Raie scrambled to Tsy's body.

"No, my sun, that dead man was your traitor who lacked respect for the ways of Cquirath and for that he deserved to die."

Raie grabbed his uncles arm, his limbs were spread out with eyes still wide open in shock. Tears stung his eyes. His Uncle was no saint but he was the only family he had left. He wanted to be brave but failed. Raie sat crossed legged and embraced his uncle's body. Was this a punishment for his thoughts. Elia's words came to him.

"Why does death still affect you. No matter how many death we witness, how many corpses we bury. You always grieve like a child who has just lost his mother."

"It wouldn't affect me if you die" Raie had teased her, Elia didn't fall for his divergence.

"You are not really gloomy are you, you are always grieving. I see it when your eyes freeze and all expression flies from your face. You hide but I see. You are the Stator Raie, you have to be stronger than all of us."

Raie shuddered from the memory. His hand had landed on the green wristlet still clutched on his Uncle's lifeless hand.

The girl motioned for them to leave the cave. The three Exorochs and their captors walked out first. The one who had just taken the two shots lingered staring at the body in Raie's eyes.

"Leave him, he belongs to the land now." The girl said and his uncle's killer walked out the cave. The girl came to kneel beside him.

"When you come to see the chasm that your Uncle has dug around you, you will only wish he was alive so that you can kill him yourself." She caressed his hair, stood and left.